Who We Were | Book One

19. Impossible To Hide

"Follow me," Liz called over her shoulder as she disappeared. 

I nudged Josh in the side, and he stepped out from the table. "Go on," I ushered under my breath as he hesitated at the door.

Two people stood opposite Liz as we stepped down from the motor home. I noticed the girl first; her jet-black hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail and detailed black flowers inked her skin and peered from beneath the sleeve of her shirt. Zach gave a familiar grin as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Em, Josh," Liz greeted, "you've already met Zach, this is Apollo."

"Just Lo," the girl corrected.

"They'll be conducting your inspections," Liz continued. "Em, you'll go with Lo. Josh with Zach."

"Lead the way," Josh sighed, waving his arms in front of him.

We were brought to two green pitched tents sat beside each other where the fabric rattled against the wind.

"In here," Lo said as she held open the entrance. Zach did the same to the second tent, gesturing his head inside.

"I better not die in here," Josh announced as he stepped inside the green fabric. 

Two stools sat in the far corner. On top of one of them lay a neat pile of clothes, the other lay empty. In the middle of the tent, spread out like a centrepiece, was a black plastic table with two white towels spread across it.

"This is so messed up," I mumbled.

"Now, here's the thing," Lo sighed, pulling down the fabric behind her.

"You want me to take off my clothes?" I guessed.

"No," she stated.

I stared at her I surprise, waiting for her to explain. "I thou-" She lifted a finger to my face before I could interrupt.

"I want you to honestly tell me that you haven't been bitten and you're not Infected. I want you to explain where you got that cut on your face and then I want you to put those clothes on and act like I did the inspection properly."

I narrowed my eyes, "I don't understand..."

She cocked her head and her ponytail swung over her shoulder. "I'm really not in the mood to do this today," she said as she picked up the pile of clothes on the chair and handed them to me. "Here." She pointed to the top of the pile where a pack of sanitary pads sat on top of a sports bra. "You'll need those," she scoffed, "You're lucky most people here are over 50. They don't have much use for them."

"Thank you," I replied. "Isn't everyone supposed to get an IP?" I questioned, holding out my hands. There were clean socks and underwear underneath and the same black shirt and camouflaged trousers that Liz and Zach had been wearing.

She paused and nodded before turning around to give me some privacy. "Liz thinks people can hide it when they've been bitten, that there's someone out there who would hide it to tear the camp apart from the inside... She's 'thorough'," she quoted, "which is probably for the best..."

"But?" I pressed as I began to remove my clothes. 

"But, most of the time it isn't necessary."

"Why?" I questioned, feeling the metal of the necklace against my chest as I pulled on the black shirt. It had seemed like a lifetime since I'd found my parents.

Her voice lowered. "When someone's just been Infected, you can tell. It's in their eyes, their face. It's almost impossible to hide." She looked to the ground as she spoke, crossing and uncrossing her hands in front of her.